USA Dropped the Ball

Well USA has managed to lose after having an enormous lead over Europe in the Ryder's Cup. Up 4 points at the start of the day, the individual matches proved to go in the wrong direction for the US. Hole 17 and 18 seemed to be the deciding factors for many of the games and Europe just squeaked by and are keeping the cup for another two years. The matches were so close most came down to the last hole and the very last putt. It was definitely a nail bitter the whole day and an extremely disappointing ending. Out of the last 9 cups America has only taken it twice. There has only been one other year where a team had rallied back to make up for a four point deficit and that was the US in 1999. It wasn't our year and we will have to wait another two before we can try and bring the cup back to America. 

Ryder Update

Day 1

Day one of the three day tournament is looking good for team USA. Team Mickelson and Bradley took the show. Bradley a rookie has been preparing for this moment for a long time and he came out with a bang. Taking the show and shutting down Europe, team Mickelson and Bradley ran away with the victory and started the tournament for team USA. Although they had an amazing day, not to surprisingly Woods did not have much luck. Woods was up against the strongest hitter for Europe but his lack of consistency helped give the win to Europe. When the day ended team USA was up 5-3.

Day 2

Day two started off America had all the momentum. The all star team of Bradley and Mickelson did nothing but spectacular and is proving to be the top team this year. Europe had some good matches and were able to get a few more points on the board but USA still carries the lead with 10 and Europe has only 6. It will all come down to the last day single matches. 

Day 3

As of Sunday morning it is looking good for team USA. We are ahead 10-6 and it looks like a promising day for singles matches and to take home the victory. The single matches will be on tonight and America only needs 4 1/2 points to seal the win. Instead of Woods taking on Europe's great McIlroy it will be the all star of the tournament Bradley. His built up momentum and winning streak will hopefully continue and help seal the deal for USA. 

Team America!

If you ever watch any golf, this is the weekend to watch! It's the Ryder cup which is America versus Europe. It's not an individual competition, it is all about team performance. With twelve players per team it is always a fun competition to watch. It's not a normal individual match either, they are broken up into different team matches:

1. Foursomes
2. Fourballs
3. Individuals

Foursome is my favorite to watch which consists of two two-man teams who alternate hitting with the same ball. It's interesting watching the pros play with a teammate when they are so used to playing solo. Fourballs is also two-man teams but they each play their own ball but the lowest score is used. Last played is the individual match which is like every other match in golf.

It only happens every two years so players have a lot to prove. Last time America did not pull off the win so this year we are here to take the trophy back. Last cup America lost by 1 disappointing point. It should be a good tournament to watch especially since it's here in the US.

Kissing forearms

My next lesson consisted of more practice and a new technique to help tweak my form. It was kissing forearms. It's the finish part of the swing that keeps the head of the club square to keep the ball straight. If you don't twist the arms at the end your swing your ball will go flying off to the right or the left. It was a harder concept to get and it will take some practice, but it is definitely a must to get down. Even people I know who have been playing golf for years have a hard time with this part of the swing.

I was searching the internet to see what other tips I could find and I found a great website talking about this concept. Golfswingguru had this perfect image to show the exact position of the kissing forearms. In the picture you can see the ending "L" position of the club and the kissing forearms with an "X" position, which is done both at once.

Every lesson is building on the next and there is more and more to think about while swinging the club. I am using muscles I never thought I had and it is so gratifying to see the progress and how far I can actually hit the ball. Shocking to say the least.

An afternoon at the range

It was my first time to a driving range to actually participate and not just sit and watch. I was a little nervous to say the least. My nerves were quickly calmed when I was walking to an empty spot. I saw someone shank a ball and throw his club down. It made me feel a little better to know I wasn't going to be the only one who wasn't perfect that day.

Now it was my turn, I was ready!

I was thinking about everything I had learned in my first lesson and was ready to finally see how far (and if) I could hit the ball. The first ball went about two feet in front of me.. Awesome. I started thinking about my swing and body position more than actually hitting the ball and it helped actually helped. I hit the second pretty far and I was shocked. Feeling the confidense I went for three in a row... completely missed the ball. I hit half a bucket of balls that day and there were some good and some bad. When I started thinking about the ball more than the swing is when I hit the duds or missed the ball all together. I tried to use everything I had learned and kept thinkig to myself "one shot at a time" and it seemed to help. I am surprised how much I learned by reading about golf taking one lesson! I can't wait to take another lesson and show Steve all my hard work!

One Shot at a Time

I just read an interesting blog about not getting ahead of yourself and playing in the moment. It got me thinking about my swing and positioning. Where I take my lessons, it is just a small room with computers and netting on the wall. It's easy to let the last hit and swing go with a coach telling you what you can improve on and what you did well. We watch the swing and an animation of where the ball would travel and I can see exactly what I am doing wrong. But when I’m at the driving range I find myself recounting the last hit I had. GolfGal had a great thought:

"...I wasn't playing 'one shot at a time' on those 3 bad holes and I wasn't 'staying in the moment.'   How many times have we heard players say that?  I always thought of those phrases as typical golf cliches that everyone says for the media but no one actually believes them."

Thinking about staying in the moment will definitely improve my game. Often I get wrapped up in the last shot I hit and not about the present. If it was a good shot I will try and do better by hitting it harder and by thinking that way I loose my train of thought and most likely miss the ball or shank it a few feet in front of me. If it was a bad shot I think negatively and it affects my next shot as well.  It brings up a good point about negativity and what it ultimately does to ones game. Once you start thinking about that negative shot it’s hard to relax and have fun, having fun is when I have the best shots and am the most relaxed. GREAT TIP GolfGal!

First Lesson

1. Grip

2. L to L

3. Squish the Bug

My very first golf lesson with Golf Tec was extremely intimidating. I had never held a golf club before let alone swung and tried to hit a ball. Steve showed me the grip (which is much more complicated than just holding it) and told me to swing. I didn’t even hit the ball of course and it was recorded on a monitor right in front of me so we could watch it over and over in regular time and in slow motion to evaluate and break down everything I was doing. It was awful to say the least, but I could only get better from here. He told me to bring the club back and make an L shape with my arms and the club keeping my left arm straight. When following through make another L shape on the other side of my body. There was a lot to remember and do all at once. I never said golf was easy but I didn’t think there would be so much to think about. We practiced without a ball (phew) for about 20 minutes just to get the swing down and the next thing I know I was comfortable enough to try to hit the ball. The best advice he gave me was to not think about hitting the ball but to just concentrate on the swing. Last lesson of the day taught to me by Jesse, was to follow through and “squish the bug” with my back foot. Lesson one was a success. Now on to the driving range!

Goals

As of a couple weeks ago I had never picked up or swung a golf club in my life. I was always the one riding in the golf cart just drinking beer. Well not anymore! I am signed up for 10 lessons with a pro and a friend gave me her old golf set; I am ready to play! I have had one lesson and been to the range once and I am hooked. In 6 months I should be good enough to play and keep up (hopefully) with my boyfriend and friends on the course. This blog will be all my trials and tribulations along the way, not just learning the sport but also learning about the sport. There are so many people out there talking about golf, but not very many talking about first learning and everything that goes along with it. If you don’t know the language, or haven’t been playing or watching for years it’s a little hard to follow a lot of the blogs out there. Hopefully this blog will inspire someone else to go out there and give it a shot. It’s a very intimidating sport, but from the time I have spent playing so far has been a blast.